1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for acquiring a code image in a portable terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
In accordance with rapid application developments, the portable terminals may perform not only a communication function or a schedule management function but also a game function, a remote controller function using local area communication, an image photographing function using a mounted digital camera, a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) function, etc.
Recently, a digital camera implemented in a portable terminal is frequently used to acquire a code image, which includes specific information such as a Quick Response (QR) code, a bar code, and a color code. After acquiring the code image using the camera function, the terminal may decode the acquired code image and verify code information stored in the code image.
In general, a code image is a symbol in which contents information such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), a phone number, and business card information is encoded. The code image provides an advantage that a user may acquire a plurality of information items easily and quickly via the code image.
In addition, the code image may be attached to a webpage, a package, a business card, etc. Here, the code image must be attached in a state where an empty space of a certain region is adequately secured to eliminate the overlapping of different images.
In another application, a mobile user may generate and impose a code image over its content being display. However, a size of a display of the portable terminal is relatively small and therefore it is difficult to find an empty space to interpose the code image so that the image is not overlapped with any content thereon.
When the code image is overlapped over other text or picture data, there is a problem in that it is impossible for the portable terminal or another portable terminal to acquire an accurate code image when the code image is overlapped with a text data or an image data as a shape of the code image is changed by the overlapping of the text data and the code image. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved scheme to insert the code image which may be overlapped with a text data (an image data) and to accurately recognize the code image overlapped with the text or image data in a portable terminal.